musings of a social architect

Merging the Real and Virtual

I keep an eye on Asia as the "canary in a coal mine" gaming market, where emerging trends happen first. Recently, this item caught my eye - a new initiative in China from HabboHotel, the wildly popular visual chat environment. Apparently, you can now purchase virtual items that will also result in an identical physical item being shipped to your house. Imagine the possibilities....

Habbo Hotel in China , developed by Sulake and apparently operated by Netease, is now allowing online purchases of virtual items that are paired with real-world sales. Flowers, clothes, and movie tickets can be purchased online through Habbochina and the matching real items will be delivered to the purchaser the next day.

Link: Habbo China to Match Real and Virtual Purchases

Social Networking Goes Mobile

My Spring Work Binge is officially over, and summer is here! I've got several interesting projects going on  - including an upcoming trip to Helsinki to consult for Nokia. But mostly, I'm chilling out in Los Angeles with my family after an intense few months, and enjoying the balmy Southern California weather. And of course, catching up on my blogging.

First off - an article from a few weeks back about mobile social networking. This article posits that connecting to existing social networks is a stronger approach than trying to develop a mobile-only network - a POV that I totally agreee with. More and more, we're seeing mobile apps that EXTEND the web - and I think this trend will continue to grow.

While standalone wireless social networks like SMS.ac and Dodgeball pioneered the genre, they and sites like them are increasingly partnering with other sites to gain traction. "I don't think there's a lot of opportunity for networks built entirely around a wireless persona," says Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. "What's going to be much more successful are extensions of existing communities."

Link: Social Networking Goes Mobile.